Be your best self with Alliance Bank’s Management Trainee Programme!

By Farisha Adriana

An exciting journey with experiential learning opportunities and continuous guidance awaits.

Committed to recognising and developing graduates’ potential, The Alliance Bank Management Trainee Programme (MTP) is designed to establish a solid foundation of knowledge, skills and experience among young talent in hope of becoming future leaders of the financial services industry.

Speaking exclusively to GRADUAN®, Alliance Bank's Management Trainee (Batch 2019) Tan Yee Wen shared how the 12-month programme helped her gain a comprehensive understanding of the many aspects of banking operations through job rotations and how it accelerated her learning journey in the industry.

Tell us more about the Management Trainee Programme.
The Alliance Bank Management Trainee (MT) Programme is designed to train and develop young talents to become future leaders in the financial services industry.

The Management Trainee Programme is a comprehensive and intensive 12-month development programme for young graduates seeking to begin their financial services career. It comprises experiential learning opportunities, work rotation, real-world projects, networking sessions and more. As a fresh graduate with no work experience, I was pleased to be given this opportunity to experience all that, culminating in a final placement of our choice.

As this programme is crafted for an individual’s long-term development, we were given tremendous support throughout the programme. That helped with our seamless transition from being a young graduate to a professional banker.

While we grow our breadth and depth in knowledge, we were assigned a “buddy” who is an MT graduate and mentored by an experienced leader. There are also many networking opportunities with the Management Committee (ManCo) members throughout the programme.

Tell us about your first day as a Management Trainee at this organisation.
Fresh out of college, I was very enthusiastic and nervous going into my first job. For many young graduates, transitioning from being a full-time student to a working adult might be scary, but having a positive attitude and flexibility towards changes and setbacks is the key to thriving.

On Day One, I was excited because there were more than 20 of us going through the programme together. We were warmly welcomed by the Organisational & Development Learning (ODL) Team, briefed on the MT Programme and the Bank’s expectations of us. I vividly recall how I felt when the MT graduates and Management Committee (MANCO) members shared their experience - I was thrilled about the adventure I was about to embark on and hope to tell my story one day.

Share with us 3 of your favourite highlights/valuable moments as a Management Trainee in this organisation.

1. Learning Opportunities & networking session with MANCO
Learning under different leaders and having the opportunity to engage with the MANCO members was definitely an eye-opener. I had the chance to personally witness their best business practices and also received insightful advice from them.

The networking sessions were very beneficial as most leaders share their knowledge and professional experience with us, inspiring us in their own way as they have experienced many hardships and challenges to be where they are today.

2. Project Pitch
We were assigned specific groups during the programme and given projects to work on within a time frame. The preparation journey and challenged us to become more agile and adaptable.

We also learn to be better collaborators because, honestly, no man is an island. At Alliance Bank, we believe in building alliances to improve lives. This means we always work as a team to achieve mutually beneficial solutions. During our project pitch, we have to collaborate effectively with our team member who may or may not have different views. We also need to meet the needs of other stakeholders. Admittedly, it was challenging, but we completed the project and become better individuals and team members at work.

3. Hands-on Experience & Leadership Learning
Surely a leadership journey would not be complete without real-life experiences and social activities. Through the business rotations that we were put through, we have a holistic, 360º learning experience. For me, I am grateful for the opportunity to explore different functions and businesses within the Bank - from Group Operations to Financial Markets, Consumer to Business Banking branches, Islamic Banking to Investment Banking. It also meant a better understanding of the Bank’s operations, processes, and countless learning and networking opportunities.

We also went through an off-site leadership trip to align our individual aspirations to the Bank’s success.

Keen to be part of an ongoing learning journey and support? Click here to apply!

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